A Broken Glass and Its Pieces: The Psychological Impact on Children in Gaza

Writer: Qamar Bazar

Editor: Malak Taillouli and Eishah Malik

The sun warms their skin as the children play on the beach, their fingers sink into the wet sand, and the soft grains bury their feet. The pulsing crash of waves and the echo of laughter grew louder with every joke, filling the air with a sense of sincerity and peace, unaware that it would be their last time before the world flipped against them. The waves moved faster, creeping closer to the shore until the ocean grabbed one of the children, pulling them from the sand into the pelagic zone and drowning them. Suddenly, the laughter and voices faded into the distance, and a bomb fell before their eyes. Chaos erupts with screams through the air, and ambulance sirens blare. Paramedics urged the crowd to back away from the scene, but children stood frozen in confusion, blood staining their white clothes. Hazardous smoke filled the air, irritating their eyes and making breathing harder, while human body parts littered the ground. To the right, an abandoned hand lies on the ground, wearing the same ring a friend once wore, leaving a silent question hanging: Was this real? 

To the children of Gaza, yes, this is their reality. Grief hovers over their world as countless nights pass with fear and anguish while society turns away from their pleas, begging for mercy. The playgrounds where they once laughed and played have collapsed into piles of rubble, their homes becoming nothing but nonexistent addresses. Their livelihoods have vanished, and any remnants of work, education, or even hospitals are unrecognizable in the mountains of debris and bodies that line the streets. 

Throughout this paper,  I will discuss the urgent need to address Gazan children and the impact of their wartime trauma, a direct result of the struggles of their daily lives, and how they 

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internalize this trauma during their most vital developmental stages. At a young age, children lack the emotional awareness and cognitive ability to understand the horrific events around them. Journalists in Gaza reported that children have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociative amnesia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) resulting from forcible displacement, anxiety of living under siege, and incessant threats. Overcoming these hardships is difficult due to the blatant instability that necessitates intervention.

Researchers have observed post-traumatic stress disorder in nearly every child affected by the genocide, which emphasizes the urgency of addressing this issue. Children struggle to concentrate on class lessons because their brains are in perpetual distress. The article “How a history of trauma is affecting the children of Gaza” states, “A review study in 2011 found high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among Palestinian children, with estimates in various studies ranging from 23% to 70%” (Farajallah, 2021, p. 15). Exposure to bombings and gunfire threats triggers a state of ‘hyperarousal,’ where sounds of an airstrike heighten nervousness. Farajallah witnessed children with symptoms of physical trauma: “They have splinters and fragments in their bodies. Some of them have lost their limbs; some of them have lost their eyesight.” She also saw a whole range of mental and behavioral health symptoms among children in Gaza, like “fear of darkness, general tension, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, difficulty sleeping, and a recollection of their trauma” (Farajallah, 2021, p. 15). Problems sleeping and nightmares can discourage children from getting the rest they need to sustain a healthy brain and regulate their emotions because sleep is crucial for memory, learning, and overall well-being. For example, the fear of darkness mentioned in this quote can prevent children from participating in typical childhood experiences, such as playing outside or engaging 

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in activities that help build friendships and trust. If children are too afraid to interact with others, they miss opportunities to express themselves, relieve stress, and form meaningful connections. This emotional disconnection traps them in a harmful cycle that restricts their growth and well-being.

 Within months, children living under siege in Gaza developed dissociative amnesia as humanitarian aid was either restricted or blocked. This shortage of essentials, such as medical supplies, food, and water, exacerbated the situation. The article “Children’s Malnutrition Rises in the Gaza Strip” states, “There is a high risk that malnutrition will continue to rise across the Gaza Strip due to the alarming lack of food, water, and health and nutrition services. Inadequate safe drinking water and insufficient water for cooking and hygiene purposes compound poor nutrition. Hungry, thirsty, and weak, more Gazans are falling sick. The report finds that at least 90 percent of children under five are affected by one or more infectious diseases” (The Foreign Affairs News, 2024, p. 6). The blockade deprives people of life’s most fundamental needs by limiting access, as the lack of drinkable water leads to dehydration, disease, poor hygiene, and worsening malnutrition. Ninety percent of children under five suffer from one or more infectious diseases; they are not a mere statistic, but toddlers and infants who are sick, hungry, and do not have access to care. This kind of chronic stress from deprivation contributes to severe mental health conditions like dissociative amnesia. 

Moreover, with this condition, a child’s environment is unsafe and unstable; their brain may repress memories as a coping mechanism, as stated in the article “Effect of Trauma Due to War on Dissociative Symptoms and Resilience among Palestinian Adolescents in the Gaza Strip”.The authors note,  “The present study showed that Palestinian adolescents had been victims of continuous trauma, which increased the risk of psychopathology such as dissociative symptoms. Such symptoms hurt adolescent resilience when faced with adversity. Such reactions require psychosocial interventions based on a public health and developmental process, which usually include engaging children in community-based recreational and cultural activities in the war-affected populations” (Ghannam, R. T., & Thabet, A., 2014, p. 116). Adolescents in Palestine endure hardships daily, resulting in dissociative reactions, eventually undermining their coping skills. Community-based sports, arts, and cultural programs are essential for encouraging resilience in these young individuals. These initiatives provide safe environments for emotional expression, trust-building, and collaborative problem-solving among peers. Over time, consistent engagement in these activities can help alleviate dissociative symptoms and improve one’s ability to confront ongoing challenges.

Forcible displacement also takes a severe psychological toll on children in Gaza, leading to the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. For example, being suddenly uprooted from their homes, separated from loved ones, and placed in overcrowded shelters creates overwhelming fear, bewilderment, and a loss of control. In response to this chaos, many children begin to develop obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors such as repeatedly checking to make sure their few belongings are still with them, counting steps as they move through unfamiliar shelters, or excessively washing their hands out of fear of getting sick. Children in Gaza appear to use these behaviors as a coping mechanism to feel safe, but behind these diagnoses are signs of deep, emotional distress. The article “Impact of traumatic experiences on obsessive-compulsive disorder: a study of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – a conflict area” states, “Studies on war trauma have found high comorbidity between PTSD and OCD, or at least obsessive-compulsive tendencies. War-related trauma is a common experience among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with estimates indicating that between 60% and 93% of individuals have been affected. It is crucial to consider the effect of environmental turbulence on the development and later perpetuation of OCD psychopathology. Given the heightened vulnerability of Gazans to traumatic incidents and, in particular, the repeated exposure to war-related trauma alongside other forms of trauma, it is essential to note trauma-induced pathologies” (Hannoon, El-Khodary, & Zhang, 2024, p.3). Because of this trauma, Palestinian children experience developing obsessive-compulsive disorder and tendencies, with an estimated 60% to 93% of Palestinians vulnerable to developing mental health issues that stem from their persistent interactions with traumatic events. It ultimately leads to psychological events, contributing to the ever-increasing prevalence of mental disorders. 

Remember the once blue beach under shimmering warm sunlight, surrounded by the innocent shrieks of children splashing water at one another? The brutal weight of genocide has destroyed it. The gold beneath their playful steps has darkened, bruised brown, and then bled into crimson, smeared with the blood of the fallen. The sea that soothed them now roars with grief and violence, no longer a cradle of joy but a mirror of the trauma consuming Gaza’s children. Instead of being swept into the ocean, they are submerged in a reality they cannot escape. The trauma they carry, PTSD, dissociative amnesia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, are visible scars of a childhood fractured by violence. These children’s psychological blemishes are more than memories; they are the broken pieces of their scattered and unreachable childhood. In this atmosphere of chaos and fear, Gaza’s children are in despair between the past they can’t return to and the present that offers no solace. Only through compassionate action, psychological support, and the creation of safe healing spaces, can we hope to restore what was stolen and give these children the chance to rebuild fragments of their lost childhood? Addressing their trauma is a moral imperative. These children deserve more than survival. They deserve healing, dignity, and the chance to rebuild their future.